Staff Reports
The American economy was on a roll in September, adding a whopping 336,000 jobs and keeping the unemployment rate steady at a low 3.8 percent. But hold your horses, folks, because those good tidings didn’t sit well with the stock market. In a classic case of the stock market being a picky eater, Dow futures took a nosedive of over 200 points upon hearing the news. Why the tantrum, you ask? Well, it all comes down to the fear of the almighty Federal Reserve raising interest rates yet again.
This better-than-expected jobs number is music to the ears of the Fed and its Chair Jerome Powell, which means they’re more likely to keep interest rates sky-high for longer. And who does that hurt the most? You guessed it, the hardworking American people and small businesses. Thanks to the Biden administration’s mishandling of inflation, interest rates have skyrocketed to levels not seen since the early 2000s. It’s like they’re playing a game of “Let’s see how much we can squeeze out of the middle class!”
Payroll employment rises by 336,000 in September; unemployment rate unchanged at 3.8% https://t.co/ZwrVfLviqL #JobsReport #BLSdata
— BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov) October 6, 2023
But wait, there’s more! The Bureau of Labor Statistics kindly revised the job numbers upwards for the previous months. They sprinkled in an additional 119,000 jobs, just for fun. It’s like they’re trying to taunt us with the fact that they weren’t even accurate in the first place. What a hoot!
Now, let’s talk about wages. Sure, the average hourly earnings in September went up by a minuscule 0.2 percent, resulting in a 12-month increase of 4.2 percent. But can we all take a moment to remember that real wages for hardworking Americans have been in the negative zone for the majority of the past 24 months? That’s right, under Biden’s watch, we’ve seen consecutive months of wages that don’t even keep up with inflation. It’s like a never-ending cycle of working harder for less.
So, while the White House may be doing a victory dance and claiming this as a major win, let’s not forget the consequences. Higher interest rates mean more pain for small businesses, homebuyers, and everyday Americans trying to make ends meet. It’s time for the Biden administration to take off its rose-colored glasses and face the reality: their policies are wreaking havoc on our economy, one job report at a time.
